Hyuuga Neji: Denial Royalty
by sarafu-chan
Summary: The title for being Denial King would certainly go to Neji. And why not, since he can’t even admit his feelings for Tenten to himself. But with the help of his Inner Self, will all that change? NejiTen all the way!
1. And So It Begins

For the past few days, Neji found himself not acting like he is supposed to normally act. There were…_things_. Things that are bothering his mind and haunting him in his sleep. Complicated things… that he just can't explain using even the most intricate of words.

Neji sighed unhappily. He wasn't the type of person who would actually take the time and think about these… _things_. Frankly speaking, these things only lead him to an afternoon full of headache and a trip to the hospital.

Wait, what are these _things_ anyway?

His inner voice, something that has been constantly popping out at the most inopportune moments lately, smiled slyly. **_Whatever those things are, I'm sure they involve HER._**

Block out those thoughts, Neji! Don't let your innocent mind be contaminated!

He felt a sudden pain on his back, and it was only then that Neji realized that he had been in his meditation pose for about 2 hours straight. He slowly opened his eyes. And saw his bun-haired teammate looking at him quizzically.

Neji exhaled sharply, hiding his initial surprise that it was Tenten which was the first thing he saw after his relaxing meditation. "What do you want?"

"Oi, you okay Neji?" Tenten asked, ignoring Neji. She placed a hand on his forehead, only to have it slapped away by the Hyuuga genius. "Hey, I was just concerned!"

"I don't need your concern," Neji grumbled irately, which was unusual since he usually displays a cool and collected exterior around those who surround him.

"Fine, suit yourself," The girl shrugged, and Neji unintentionally noticed the way her sensuous mouth pouted as she said this. At the thought of this, Neji fought the urge to punch himself in the head. "I was just worried. You know, since you've been meditating for a long time I thought you would've been numb. But anyway…" Tenten turned on her heel. "I guess you are fine, Neji, if you have the strength to snap at me like that."

"Hn." He closed his eyes again as he heard Tenten's footsteps disappearing.

Neji then opened his eyes again and risked taking a glance at Tenten who had already vanished out of sight. He cursed himself and returned to his meditation pose.

An uneasy feeling suddenly settled in the pit of his stomach.

**_Ooh, weetle Neji has a crush on Tenten!_** The inner something teased candidly.

_Oh, shut up, _Neji mumbled, squashing his churning stomach – and the inner something—with one hand. _Stupid butterflies.

* * *

_

Hyuuga Neji: Denial Royalty

_If ever the world has voted who would be Denial King, the first place would certainly go to Neji. And why not, since he can't even admit his feelings for Tenten to himself. But with the help of his Inner Self, will all that change? A three-chappie fluffy NejiTen!_

Woohoo! I'm back from outer space! dances the Macarena I dedicate this to all of the solid NejiTen fans! Basically, this is about Neji being in denial and all and questioning himself if he really has some feelings for Tenten. Characters are kinda **OOC**, be warned. This fic is supposed to be a SasuSaku _but _I just can't resist myself into turning it into a NejiTen when I was typing this fic. Sorry SasuSaku fans! Maybe next time! gets chased by hardcore SasuSaku fans with various pointy objects

**DISCLAIMER:** If you want to own Naruto, start by asking for ownership of the world.

**P.S.** Read and review PLEASE! When I looked at the stats of my other fic, it had about **1108 hits** but only **20 reviews**! What's up with that?

* * *

"Lee," The taijutsu master turned to Neji at the sound of his name. "You. Me. Sparring."

At this, Lee bounced up and down, eyes shining "Oh Neji! You have finally accepted that my amazing prowess is equally comparable to yours! YOSH! I won't let you down! With the best of my abilities, I would show you my flaming youth power!"

"Whatever," Neji slipped into his offensive stance. "Let's begin."

At the other side of their training grounds, Gai was rambling how proud he is that Neji already recognized his student's youthful power.

"Like a mother bird," Gai-sensei sniffed, crying in joy. "who has watched her sons and daughters grow up and mature… And then finally seeing them sprout wings and fly high… How my heart swells in pride that the very rival my student chose for himself has accepted Lee's abilities and skills, even going as far as to challenge Lee to a fight himself!"

Tenten, who was handing Gai a bunch of Kleenex tissues, only smiled even though she doesn't even know what the heck her deranged sensei is talking about.

"Anyway," The Green Beast of Konoha shifted his attention to Tenten. " what about you, dear flower of our youthful team? Are you worried that if this keeps up, my Lee would replace you as Neji's sparring partner?"

The weapon mistress scratched her head and answered, "Gee, I haven't thought of that."

"Well then, worry no more! I shall gladly substitute as your training power to help you improve greatly on your skills!" Gai declared, flashing another blinding smile.

**CRASH! BOOM! THUD!**

The two saw Neji blasting Lee away with his Hands of Hakke, sending the poor boy crashing on a large boulder.

"Gai-sensei, I… I have failed you." These were the last words of the Taijutsu master before completely going unconscious. Gai bawled and cried loudly, shaking his student forcefully to wake him up.

Tenten approached her teammate, "Er, Neji? Didn't you overdo it? I mean, beating Lee is one thing, but beating him up is another."

"It's just fine. He'll be alright." Neji stated, walking away.

"Okay then… Whatever you say…" Tenten trailed off and after a minute, caught up with Neji. "Hey Neji! Wait up!"

"Yes?" Neji turned around, an annoyed expression evidently sketched on his handsome face.

'You want to go and spar with me?" The girl, oblivious that the Hyuuga genius is getting irritated, asked innocently. "I have a new move to show you. I think that it'll be enough to break your absolute defense. Hey!" Neji started walking away again. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Training," she heard Neji say. "From now on, I won't spar with you anymore, Tenten. Goodbye."

Tenten could feel her mouth fall open, "_What?"

* * *

_

_Good, _Neji thought to himself, nodding in satisfaction. _Push her away and she'll leave your mind for good!_

Neji was practicing the Gentle Fist all alone in a forest near their training grounds. He punched the air, sweat trickling down his chin.

_**But, **_Neji groaned when he heard the inner voice—that little devil, he liked to call it— butt in again. **_You're only making it harder for yourself! Think, genius! If you won't see her, it'll be up to your imagination to think of her. Every. Waking. Hour. What a dilemma you have. You can't even sort out your feelings for her!_**

The little devil voice chuckled as he watched Neji clutch his head in confusion, _I don't have feelings!_

Neji kicked a tree trunk forcefully as the inner voice continued, **_So you're going all Uchiha Sasuke on me, huh? Well it won't work! If he and Sakura became a couple, why can't you and Tenten be one?_**

The Hyuuga genius stopped, panting, _Tenten and I? A couple? _He repeated, sounding unconvinced. _Impossible!_

_**It's possible! Highly possible! **_The inner something insisted, circling Neji's head.

_But… _Neji searched his soul for any excuse. _It's absurd! We're teammates! Besides, if we get together, we'll be dubbed the most dysfunctional pair ever! A tomboy who has adores sharp and pointy objects and a Hyuuga prodigy obsessed with destiny with the most beautiful hair equals-_

_**The perfect couple.**_

_No, you mean a match made in hell, _Neji grumbled.

The inner voice shook his head tiredly, **_You are in denial._**

_No, I am sensible. Besides, romance would get in the way and distract me from getting stronger. If I get distracted, I might not be able to challenge Naruto for a rematch. _Reasoned Neji as patiently as possible to his inner self.

_**Aha! There! That's you proof!**_

Neji sighed. _What proof?_

**_Wait, just rewind what you just said a while ago and I'll show you proof beyond reasonable doubt. _**The inner voice confidently said.

_Okay, okay… _Neji sat on the ground. _What did I say? Wait… I said that romance would get in the way and that I want to challenge Naruto for a rematch._

Neji's inner self danced in victory, **_Yep, the evidence that you like Tenten is all there!_**

_What evidence? _Neji growled, massaging his aching forehead.

_**You said that romance would distract you.**_

Neji raised his eyebrows. _So?_

_**It just means that you're already romantically and emotionally attached to Tenten but because this is distracting you, you are pushing all thoughts of her away! **_

_You have a twisted sense of logic, _Neji commented, feeling a little stupid talking to his pesky inner self.

**_Number two, _**The inner something continued, **_You want to challenge Naruto for a rematch. That just proves that you really, really like Tenten!_**

_What the hell does Tenten and Naruto have in common, huh? _Demanded Neji angrily. _When you look at it in every angle, it just doesn't make any sense!_

**_But when you look at it from MY point of view, it makes perfect sense, _**Neji's sly inner voice said sagely. **_You, who has accepted, Naruto as an individual who is not only strong physically but also emotionally, wants to challenge Naruto to another match even though you know that the rematch would be pretty pointless. But that's not the point. The point is that Naruto is Hinata's boyfriend. You are chagrined by the fact that a simpleminded guy like Naruto can get a girlfriend when you, a genius with good looks to boot, can't even admit to yourself how much you love your teammate!_**

_That's bu-_

_**Don't say bad words, Neji. **_

And Neji cursed the inner something instead.

* * *

Tenten had never been the aggressive one. In fact, Tenten is more of a "think first _while_ acting it out" person. In Gai's team though, she's the one most likely to result in using diplomacy instead of utilizing violence.

So imagine Neji's surprise when a week after he had declared Tenten as an unsuitable partner for him, he had caught the young kunoichi glaring, glaring ang _glaring_ at him some more when they coincidentally went home at the same time taking the same path home. So maybe he shouldn't be surprised. After all, if Tenten was the one who had blown her off, then maybe he would feel also feel what she felt: surprise, disappointment and anger. And it's not like it's his fault that he's ignoring her. Any man with good common sense would just ignore the girl he feels for.

Neji stopped in his tracks and groaned. Okay, forget about the last part. And maybe ignoring is actually what a _girl_ would do in his situation. Man, he's turning girly!

Anyway, the point is, it isn't his fault. No, of course not.

"Hyuuga…"

Neji cringed. Tenten had never called him _that_.

The weapon mistress didn't notice Neji's stunned reaction when she called him by his surname, "How is your training going?"

"Good…" responded Neji slowly. What he said was a big, fat lie. Unless of course if you call talking to yourself when alone in the middle of a forest _training_.

"Okay then," Tenten nodded. "I look forward to kicking your butt by the next time I get the opportunity to spar with you."

Neji's eyes absolutely widened. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"I'm becoming more proficient with a senbon now. And the fuuma shuriken is a breeze to handle," mused the weapon mistress. She then glanced at Neji. "Hey, if you've been working hard, you might dodge the thousands of shurikens I have in store for our next battle.

Neji looked at her funny. "You know I have my absolute defense." He said matter-of-factly.

Tenten shrugged. "Yeah, of course I do. That's why all of those shurikens have explosive tags. _And _the explosive tags I used were the ones I specially made myself. The ones with thrice the impact of a firework."

"Why are you telling me this?" Neji asked, losing his unruffled demeanor. "Aren't you afraid that now that I found out about this, I would use this to my advantage and be on my guard the next time we spar?"

"The next time we spar will be for a long time, Hyuuga. You said it yourself," Tenten wagged a finger at Neji. "And besides, I have a lot more surprises waiting for you."

Neji could tell that she was hiding her anger at him and decided to ask bluntly, "Are you angry?"

Tenten blinked, and then snorted loudly, as if amused by the question he had posed on her, "Why should I be?"

"Because you- " His sentence was cut off when hundreds, no, thousands of shurikens came flying at his direction. "Oh crap."


	2. And So It Continues

Neji arrived at the Hyuuga Estates looking black and blue. He was bruised, and he looked tired. Very tired.

So tired in fact that when he bumped into Hyuuga Hiashi, (who was feeling extra annoyed today because Naruto destroyed yet another one of the Hyuuga relics. Again.) he didn't even apologize or mutter a decent sorry. He just… Well, he just continued walking like there was no tomorrow.

Hyuuga Hiashi raised his eyebrows and called out his nephew, "Neji."

The Hyuuga genius didn't seem to hear him.

So the great leader of the Hyuuga clan decided to try again, this time, his voice louder and clearer. "Neji."

"Huh?" Neji turned around. "Oh, Hiashi-sama."

Hyuuga Hiashi frowned. Neji never ever called him in such a lazy voice before.

"I'm sorry," He heard the prodigy continue. "I didn't see you there."

Hyuuga Hiashi, his annoyance fast vanishing, looked like he was going to throw up, "Didn't… see me there?" If he really didn't, what was the Byakugan for? Something weird is going on…

"Neji," Hiashi said, trying to fill in the role of a concerned father. "Is there a problem? Do you…" Hiashi gulped. He was never really good at this father talks anyway. "… want to talk about it?"

Neji ONLY stared. For a moment, Hiashi looked embarrassed.

"The Byakugan, along with the Hyuuga's legendary intuition, allows us to sense the emotions locked up in the darkest corners of our hearts, the suppressed emotions that do not ebb right away but still continuing to remain until it aches and torments our souls." Hiashi really didn't know what he was saying. He was testing how Neji would react.

"…"

"Neji, I must tell you that Uzumaki Naruto sneaked in again and visited Hinata, breaking another one of the vases down the hallway."

"…"

"That is not the reason of your distress? Well… I saw a bird today and I decided to catch it. It is now inside a cage near my room, if you want to ask where it is located."

"…"

"I, well, I saw a photograph of Hizashi, your father. Momentarily blinded by jealousy that he had fathered a Hyuuga prodigy, I spitted on the photograph and burned it."

"…"

Hiashi's shoulders slumped. So far, he's not fairing well being Neji's concerned uncle. Inwardly, he prayed to the heavens, asking for Hizashi's forgiveness because he hadn't guided his child properly and correctly. So, feeling useless, Hiashi only cleared his throat. At least, he had the Hyuuga grace to look poised.

"Then Neji," Hiashi finally told his nephew. "if you really do not wish for me to intrude your personal life, I shall go now and leave you be."

"…"

"Oh, I forgot. Somebody called and asked me to tell you that you are "a loathsome and despicable creature and that you being egotistical will be your downfall.'" That somebody also had the nerve to say that you are not really a man and that you should stop acting like a jerk." Neji seemed to have snapped out of his trance and looked up at his uncle. "It was a girl, I think. What was her name? Penpen? Tonton? Tintin?"

"Tenten?"

The leader of the Hyuugas nodded. "Yes, you have guessed correctly, my nephew."

Neji's eyes bulged out and he suddenly ran to his room at the speed of light, screaming something about "vile girls, stupid weapons, and killing intent."

* * *

Sleep was slipping away yet Neji is still not ready to be awake. No, not when all he could think about is his teammate- the girl, thankyouverymuch- and how he could fix the mess he was in. 

Neji knew that he had dug himself a hole from the very start.

And it wasn't exactly helpful that since he started ignoring Tenten, that hole could very well be his grave.

A bright idea then suddenly popped into his head. He wasn't called a genius for nothing.

Turning on the lights of his room, Neji quickly searched for some pen and paper. After finding the two items, he sat down on his chair, that trademark smirk on his face, and uncapped the pen.

_Top Ten Things I **Don't** Like About Tenten _(1)

Neji smirked in satisfaction. My, my, my… Isn't he brilliant? He should win a Nobel Prize for this. In writing on paper what annoys him the most about Tenten, he can focus on the more important things in his life… Like what Tenten's favorite color is.

Wait- Where did that come from? Erase, erase, erase! Focus Neji!

_No. 10: She's a tomboy!_

Is there anything more to say? Though she's a very pretty and attractive tomboy, she is still a… er, tomboy. Yeah.

_No. 9: Her buns are annoying!_

**_Hell yeah!_** Inner Neji nodded, agreeing. He knows that she's into Chinese stuff and all but goodness gayness, who in the right mind would put her hair into two buns anyway? Is she a Chun-li wannabe or something? Now it's all up to his imagination what she would look like with her hair down…

_No. 8: She's way too much obsessed with that Astrology junk._

Neji frowned, remembering the time when the weapon mistress told him that Cancers could be extra moody when there's a full moon.

At that time, they were on an A-class mission and since he was officially disturbed back then (but of course Tenten wouldn't know about that…Ssh!), he didn't notice that there were some ninjas on the mountainous area of the forest they were in, leading to Gai's team being ambushed. Luckily, they were very skilled ninjas and cleaned them out after reaching the enemy's hideout.

"_It was lucky you didn't warn us about the ambush, Neji," Gai said, giving them his all-too-familiar freaky thumbs-up. "Good job!"_

"_Yes, Neji! You certainly did the right thing by not warning us!" Lee chirped, causing a vein to violently twitch on Neji's forehead. _

_Tenten grinned. (Neji mentally said to himself that if he became Hokage, he would make it illegal for Tenten to smile so prettily like that.) "Hmm, but isn't it funny that you did not inform us that the enemies had us already surrounded? The Neji I know would surely tell us so that we would avoid the trap."_

_If looks can kill, Tenten would not just be six feet under but six million feet under._

"_Tenten!" Lee slung an arm around Tenten's shoulders (Neji noticed this and shifted all his glaring to Lee). "Do not insult Neji like that! His fiery and flaming youthful spirit helped him make the decision to not warn us. Because of him, we located the enemy's camp and we then accomplished the mission with no problem! For that, we should thank Neji!"_

"_Shut up, Lee." muttered Neji irately._

"_Neji, feeling extra cranky today? Tenten asked, a sly smile forming on her lips. "There's a full moon today…"_

_Neji turned to her, eyes narrowed. "You shut up too Tenten!" _

"_Ooh, touchy."_

Neji then snapped out of his reverie and turned to the paper, telling himself that the reason why he's doing this is to get his mind off that girl, and not to just remember her.

_No. 7: The pointy and sharp weapons she always brings with her._

Sure they're useful when on a mission or when they are sparring. But when she gets mad… Oh, boy. Things can be pretty nasty. Neji had the privilege to become one of the few people who experienced Tenten's wrath firsthand.

_N0. 6: Tenten doesn't give a damn about what other people say._

This must be part of the tomboy personality, Neji assumed. Really now, when all of his rabid fangirls claimed that Tenten is using their sparring sessions and an excuse to get close to him, Tenten just shrugged dismissively and walked away. Typical Tenten.

_N0. 5: She hangs out with Gai and Lee._

The reason speaks for itself. No, really.

_No. 4: She and Hinata-sama are good friends._

Hinata-sama even calls her "onee-chan," effectively annoying Neji. What's up with that? It's like they're related or something. Neji then glared ever-so-darkly on the paper that it could've bore a hole right though the desk.

_No. 3: Her immunity to my Hyuuga-Glare-of-Death!_

Nobody should be able to look at his glare and not even flinch! Why on Earth can Tenten look at him straight in the eye without being affected? It just doesn't make sense! It defies all laws of Mother Hyuuga!

_No. 2: A lot of guys are after her. She doesn't even know she has a suitor!_

_Yeah, and one of them should already be out of the hospital right about by now_, Neji thought darkly while his inner self sniggered. He should've used the hands of Hakke on that creep!

Arhem. Anyway…

_No. 1:_

Neji blinked. And then blinked again. For the past 10 minutes, he had been racking his brain for anything that he finds is the most annoying thing about Tenten. He even thought of using his Byakugan on the No. 1 blank reason but he thought better. He would've gone insane from brain-overload. Thankfully, Hyuugas don't go insane. 15 minutes then passed yet he still hasn't written something, ANYTHING, on the darn paper.

It's so sad when what you've thought was a brilliant plan suddenly backfires at you.

His inner self patted him on the back sympathetically. But that was only in his MIND(2), mind you.

Muttering all sorts of very colorful words under his breath, Neji crumpled the paper and threw it in one corner of the room. Feeling really pathetic, Neji turned off the lights and then went back to sleep.

* * *

"I officially declare to the whole wide world, no, the _entire universe_, that boys are stupid creatures and that we are better off without them!" 

"Amen." The three girls, namely, Sakura, Ino and Hinata, said. They all agreed with what the bun-haired girl stated.

The proud kunoichis of Konoha are inside Yamanaka Ino's house, having their monthly slumber party. Over the years, the girls of Rookie 9 (plus Gai's team, of course) have grown closer, maybe because no one can understand the life of a female ninja better than themselves.

"T-Tenten-oneechan, did N-Neji-niisan do something bad to you?" Hinata politely inquired.

Tenten crossed her arms and turned to the other direction. "Hmp! Don't ask."

"Hey, forehead-girl, with all your experience with cold guys maybe you can give Tenten some advise?" Ino asked the pink-haired girl beside her.

"Anou…" Sakura scratched her head. "I don't really know what to say. With Sasuke-kun and I, everything just fell right on its place so…"

"At least you've gotten together." Tenten pointed out.

"Yes, and you've managed to beat to the odds," Hinata happily sighed, clasping her hands together. "E-Everybody said that you guys can't make it but you and S-Sasuke-san did!"

"Yeah, and you've even got a strange but interesting title," Ino drew an imaginary headline in the air with her hands. "'_The Scandalous Couple of Konoha!'_"

Tenten chortled loudly, "Those days were such a riot, ne Sakura?"

"Tell me about it." Sakura sighed gloomily, remembering the intrigues and gossips that circled around Konoha after they've officially become a couple.

"Man, men can be so incredibly stupid and dense at times," Ino muttered, blowing a strand of her hair in exasperation. "Sometimes, even the most intelligent of them can get as bright as a rock when it comes to dealing with us women."

"You're not talking about Shikamaru, are you?" Sakura asked, half-laughing as Ino turned bright red.

"Of course not! Who would want a lazy-bum like him?" Ino snapped tersely. "Sure, he maybe intelligent and all… and he can be caring when he needs to be… and maybe from time to time he can be sweet… A-And…" She paused, blushing, while the girls laughed at her.

Hinata spoke again. "I-Ino… why don't you just tell Shikamaru what you feel?"

"How could I? When that sand witch is always hanging around him…" Ino's face then darkened. "Wait! Why are we talking about _moi_ anyway? Let's go back to Tenten and Neji!"

"Since when did we become a topic anyway?" Tenten protested as Ino smiled slyly.

"Since you unofficially became a couple!" Ino exclaimed brightly. "Just as Hinata and Naruto unofficially belong to each other!"

"I-Ino!" Hinata's face turned as red as a tomato. "T-That's not true!"

"Just give yourselves time and it will be," said Sakura sagely. "Besides, Naruto told me once that he thinks of you as cute."

"Sakura-chan!"

Ino turned to Tenten again, "No where were we? Oh yeah, that stuff that Neji did to piss you off."

Tenten only wrapped her arms around her waist as her eyes casted downwards. "Oh. That."

"What did he do, Tenten?" Sakura asked, concerned. "Did he do or say something hurtful? If you want, I'll track him down and punch him until he realizes his mistakes!" Sakura punched her fist for emphasis.

Tenten laughed. "No, no… But thanks anyway Sakura. I've already taught him a lesson… If you girls know what I mean." She then winked as the other girls laughed with her in sudden understanding.

Hinata then placed a hand over Tenten's. "T-Tenten-oneechan. Please don't worry. Everything will be alright in the end. You'll see."

The bun-haired girl blinked and then smiled slightly. "I hope so, Hinata-chan."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, damn! This is getting to be longer than I expected. This is supposed to be for three chapters only, but I'm thinking of making it five. (Me and my strange fascination for odd numbers!) Ehehe. Oops for the booboo…? What about you guys? What do you think? Should I make it, like, five chapters? Or do you want things to be over and done with by the next chappie? I'm hoping for your feedback, okay? It'll really help me out! (Since I'm not that of a good writer and all…) Oh, before I forget: 

(1) Got this from a movie I watched. Forgot the title though. The original idea was to think of ten things you **like** about your crush/special someone. But I changed it to be the exact opposite. Smart, ain't I? –gets whacked in the head for being conceited-

(2) I always read this when reading **Link and Luigi**'s fanfics involving Neji-kun. –giggles- I've always thought of it as funny and exactly what Neji would do. In my MIND.

**Special thanks to**: **everlasting memories** (OMG, such kind words! Thanks for leaving such a nice review!), **iM a AwesOme gUrL** (I'm not really that funny! Hehe!), **Kodoku** (Yeah, I know! Well, thanks for reviewing Kodoku-san! Your reviews always make me happy!), **I C E R E L L E **(Here's the update! Did you enjoy it?), **Lyzz2nwn** (You are absolutely right. Neji's in hot water!), **Alistyr** (Does it really sound promising? Thanks!), **Daughter of Water** (Well, I'm a big failure when it comes to humor so your review kinda made me glad.), **Chixon **(Thank you! But you don't have to down yourself! If you like, I can read and review your story! You'll grow with experience, Chixon-san, I assure you.)

**Please review!** It'll make this writer-wannabe deliriously happy! (But not delirious enough not to reward you guys an ice cream for a review!)


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